by Heath Pfaff
My two guards stood outside the door, so I knew it was safe to enter.
"Good morning, Liet." I said to my old friend-turned black cloak, before crossing the threshold. I knew I would not have the opportunity to speak with him privately, but I would not go a morning without acknowledging him. Liet looked at me with violent eyes, but did not respond. I sighed and passed him.
Ethaniel was waiting for me inside the room. He wore a dour expression on his face. He was as bleak and foreboding as ever. He was, perhaps, less furious than he had been the last time I spoke with him. For that, at least, I was thankful. The old Knight made it difficult to tell his exact emotional state most of the time. Though it seemed "angry" would generally sum up his mood at any given moment.
"Ethaniel, good morning." I greeted him as I made my way around him, and to my desk.
"King Noble," Ethaniel clipped curtly, offering the barest of bows. It was not to show a lack of respect, I knew, but simply because Ethaniel did not care for custom.
"I guess you're here to discuss the events of last night." I said.
"Yes, but first we should discuss the events from last night of which you were not a part." Ethaniel answered cryptically. I raised an eyebrow.
Malice took a seat in one of the spare chairs of the study, and occupied herself with flipping through the books that lined the walls. She was not particularly interested in the affairs of state. It was just as well.
"So, what happened that I am unaware of? Were there other attacks in the city?" I asked, my concern growing as my mind churned through the possibilities.
"No, there were no other attacks. However, last night, about two hours before the assassination attempt in your room, Lord Lheec, his daughter, all of their retainers, and all of the Lheec's men in the city, including our financial contacts, and trading contacts, left via a long caravan." Ethaniel's eyes, all four of them, rested heavily upon me.
"Prior to leaving," He went on. "They withdrew all owed funds from the treasury. The move to leave was quick, and well orchestrated. No one is left, and not a sliver of Lheec's gold, not a bale of hay of his resources, remains in this city."
I learned forward. Lheec, it seemed, had made his final decision regarding his intentions for my reign as king. He would not withdraw all of his aid, and all of his money, unless he intended to launch an attack. He was gathering his resources to prevent losses.
"How did he learn of my rejection of his daughter so quickly?" I asked, angry at the way information seemed to flow through our walls with such ease.
"Lheec probably has more informants inside the castle than I do, Lowin." Ethaniel dropped the formalities.
"The men last night didn't come to assassinate me directly. They came to take Malice." I told Ethaniel.
The old Knight nodded. "That makes sense. Lheec could have used her to gain leverage on you, to get you to surrender without the need to engage in a lengthy war. It was a good idea."
I shot Ethaniel a cold stare. "Kidnapping and murder are never good ideas, Ethaniel. How long have you been playing the political game that you no longer know that?"
"Whether you like it or not, Lheec is going to try and take the throne. At least he put forth the effort to try and do it as bloodlessly as possible. Of course, I don't doubt he would have demanded your head in exchange for hers. It's much easier to place a new king on the throne, when the old one is dead." My advisor replied coldly.
"What do you suggest we do?" I offered the question in a sigh of defeat, slumping heavily back in my chair. I could tell that Ethaniel had something in mind. His tone of voice, the way he explained things, all added up to the fact that he was holding something back.
"I've received word that your ships are nearing completion." He answered, a grim smile coming to his face. It was not an all together pleasant expression, but I hardly noticed. I was filled with a sudden hope. At long last, after six years of waiting, my ships were nearly ready to sail. It was finally nearing the time when I could recover Kay. My daughter. I missed her so much that it hurt to think of her.
"You think we should run?" I asked, but the words were hollow. Knowing that my ships were ready, or nearly ready, I had no intention of staying in the capital. Kreo had been a prison more than a city. To be rid of the role of king, and finally on my way to recover Kay, was all that I really wanted.
"Would you have us start another war? The Knights and the Black Patch Brigade against the armies of man? What would we win through such a conflict? Even when we won, and I do not doubt that we would, smaller though our force would be, what would we have to show for that win? The kingdom of man would lay divided, and our resources would be depleted even further. There would be no recovery. If the Hungering came back. . ." Ethaniel's words trailed off. He didn't need to finish that thought.
"Then why back me? You could easily dispose of me, and clear the way for Lheec, giving him control of the remaining Knights and the black cloaks." I said the words almost at the same moment the thought occurred to me. Ethaniel owed me nothing. Indeed, I had done him no favors over the years. I had killed the king he served, and many of his Knights, when recovering Kyeia from the facilities in which she was being kept and studied.
"Lheec, or whoever he chooses to serve as his puppet, will never really be the king. I serve the man who I see fit, and for all that you are a political fool, you are the king that I believe in. I will follow you, and the Knights will follow you as well. The black cloaks will follow you until you're dead, because that is the only manner of dethroning that their particular form of magic understands."
"Then it is settled. We must make preparations to leave." I declared, nearly forgetting about the other matter I wished to discuss with Ethaniel. I had told Silent, though, that I would try to correct what had been done. Ethaniel was on the verge of turning to leave and make preparations.
"Ethaniel, before you leave, did you order assassins sent after Silent?" I asked the old Knight.
He cocked his head, seeming to consider me before he answered. His gray eyes were full of threat, but his black eyes seemed to be searching my demeanor for something. What did he see, I wondered, when he looked at me?
"I did." He stated, not supplying any further explanation.
"I want that order canceled." I told him. Had I not been about to leave the kingdom, I might have asked him why he had acted without my permission, but it hardly seemed to matter any longer.
"As you will, my King." My four-eyed advisor replied, and I could tell by the formality he used, that he was annoyed. I didn't feel like pressing him any further on the matter, not when there was so much that needed to be done. He turned and began to walk from the room.
"Ethaniel, try to carry out our preparations to leave as quietly as possible." I told him.
He didn't stop, though he called back over his shoulder. "We'll be ready to leave in two days. Be prepared." He walked from the room.
Two days. That was fast. Had Ethaniel already been making preparations for our departure? If he had been, how had I not heard anything about it? Was I really so far removed from the happenings of the castle? That was a simple question to answer. I was. In the end, I had been a terrible king. I bit down my bitterness at the way events had unwound. I could do nothing further.
"Where are we going?" Malice asked, startling me from my thoughts. She had been listening after all. She sat on the edge of my desk, looking at me with obvious curiosity. She had no memories outside of what she'd experienced within the castle. For her the prospect of leaving must have been both exciting and frightening.
"Far, far away from here, across the Great Salt Seep, and further still, to a place where none of our kind has traveled before." I told her, trying to make it sound like a magical voyage, an adventure. The truth of the matter was somewhat less pleasant. We would be crossing the great seas, a voyage that few ships survived, and from there we would be making land-fall in the lands of the Hungering. I looked at Malice, and wondered for the first time, if it was rig
ht of me to take her along. Should I take such an innocence to a place of death and terror?
She was smiling, her eyes full of wonder. "Will we get to ride on a ship? I've always wanted to ride on a ship!"
Looking at her, I knew that there was no way I could leave her behind. No one would be able to look after her, and I couldn't bring myself to simply abandon her. Danger or not, she would have to come along. I would have to protect her, and do a better job of it than I had so far.
"Yes, we will get to ride on a ship." I answered, forcing a smile through the haze of worry that I felt suddenly creeping up around me.
"So you're going to let Lheec chase us out of the capital like a bunch of scared animals?" Snow said dully as I told her of what Ethaniel and I had decided to do. I was not surprised at her reaction. Snow did not approve of retreating. At least, not when fighting was a viable option.
"No, we'll be gone well before Lheec and his men arrive. When his armies get here, the castle will be empty." I answered her calmly. In truth, I had plans of my own. I did not intend to simply hand over the kingdom and its assets to Lheec, but I had not shared that knowledge with anyone else yet. The idea had come to me as I had finished my conversation with Ethaniel, and by the time I had reached Snow for training, my course of action was all but set. Lheec would get the kingdom, but I would make sure that he had some trouble settling in. He would not take the throne without a cost.
"They will call you a coward." Snow's face was set, her mouth an angry line.
"Let them. Fighting will win nothing but death. I'm not prepared to start another war just to hold the crown. I never wanted to be the king in the first place." I tried to explain things to my stubborn master of swords, but she shook her head again.
"I don't like this. Lheec deserves to be put in his place." Snow retorted.
"Lheec will have no easy time sitting himself upon the throne." I offered, unwilling to divulge any details of my plan at that point. "I think that Lheec will find his throne is going to cost him much more than he anticipated. I also don't think the people will be calling me a coward after I am gone. In fact, they will probably have nothing but kind things to say."
Snow's angry expression turned to one of curiosity. "What are you going to do? You haven't had any luck making the people happy yet. If you had something you could do that would please them, why didn't you do it before all of this happened?" She seemed to think for a minute, and added. "Not that I'm criticizing your work as king. You just have not managed to capture the hearts of the people."
I might have been offended if her words were not so obviously true. "What I have in mind is something that will only work once, and when I am done, it will leave things in a very difficult place for whoever is left holding the crown. Next week, when Lheec arrives, he will find himself in an incredibly precarious situation. If he can hold the kingdom, it will cost him dearly. If he can't, it will still cost him dearly, and he will be out the crown he so desperately wants."
Now Snow smiled. "I don't know what you have in mind, but it sounds absolutely terrible." She put on a stern expression. "Lowin, it's not like you to do spiteful things."
I thought about that for a moment. Was I simply trying to sting Lheec to no benefit? That was a possibility. The man had, however, tried to kidnap Malice, and he'd tried to have me killed, possibly on multiple occasions. I had, I thought, held my temper quite well so far. It was past time for me to stand up and fight back. If I could do so without hurting the kingdom as a whole, all the better.
I turned my eyes to Laouna.
She was still working on her sword forms, getting better with every hour of practice. Her body remembered, even if her mind did not. I hoped that she would be ready to fight if a situation arose that must be confronted by force. I would do everything in my power to protect her, but that would be easier if she was also able to protect herself.
"How is she progressing?" I asked Snow, who was also now watching the red-haired girl.
"She is a brilliant student. I don't know whether she is remembering what she knew before, or whether she is really learning as fast as I'm teaching her, but I have never trained anyone so good." I saw Snow's jaw tighten, and knew she was about to say something she didn't want to. It was a habit of hers to bite off things she didn't wish to speak. "She's not better than me now, but she will be if she keeps on learning at this pace. Even when I teach her techniques that I know she never learned before, she takes to them quickly. Another year or two and I will have nothing left to offer her. She is good, but. . ." Her voice trailed off.
"But?" I prompted, after a short silence that I wasn't certain Snow was going to complete.
"She lacks the will to kill. She is playing a game. When she strikes, she does not strike with the determination to wound or kill. Without that, she will never be an effective fighter." Snow finished.
I nodded solemnly. Malice had never lacked that edge. I remembered only too well the first time I'd met her, and she'd lifted me up by the front of my shirt, picking me up until I was eye level with her. Her eyes had been black then, and they had been full of darkness and anger. I had feared she would kill me. That feral look of pent rage had always been just behind the surface of her eyes.
Laouna, with her green eyes, and gentle smile, had nothing of the anger and darkness that Malice had worn like a shroud. How beautiful and terrible she had been in the dance of battle. . .
"Real battle will harden her, and give her the edge she needs. She needs to have her life on the line. That's the only way to work through the hesitance." Snow said. I knew the words were true. Killing was difficult, but it became easier the more it was done. That was the sad truth of being a soldier. After a while, it became difficult to see those on the opposite side of your sword as anything other than targets.
"Blood will temper the steel of determination." I spoke the old adage, one I'd heard from experienced fighting men, with a mournful breath. I did not doubt that fighting would better Malice's ability to strike, but I wondered if she deserved to be run through that dark gauntlet again. She had a second chance at innocence. Did I have the right to take that away from her? I would not defile her body, should I allow her mind to be equally defiled? It would make her a better fighter, but it might take that spark of innocent joy from her eyes as well.
I loved her, and I did not want to see that light fade from her forever. I vowed to myself that I would strive to keep her from battle as long as I might. If she must fight, I told myself, let it be only when no other choice remained before her. Until that time, my arm would be her shield, and my sword would be raised for her defense. After all, my innocence was already lost to forever to a world that took and never gave back.
"I'll have your new sword for you tonight." Snow's voice broke my line of thought. I looked at her, confused for a moment. I did not carry a sword often within the castle. I had tried to for a while, but my retainers and the other nobles did not feel comfortable.
When I did carry a sword, I carried the blade that had been given to me by a dying soldier on the battlefield where I had fought the black drakes, and lost my arm. The blade had survived the battle, and though I didn't believe in luck, I had felt the blade had served me well, so I kept it. I'd had the blade repaired after the battle, but had no more work done to it. It was not of the light, bright-silver steel that was commonly used in noble weapons, but it was a good and sturdy blade. I didn't savor the thought of replacing it, even if Snow though it was wise for me to change to a longer weapon, closer to the one I'd practiced with the day before.
"I already have a sword." I told her, remembering Uin Delmor, the fallen soldier's whose blade I carried, and whose name I had burned into my mind.
"I know, because I've had it reforged for you." She replied, smiling.
"You had my sword reforged?" I was angry. That sword had sentimental value, and I was aghast that it had been melted down.
"Don't look at me like that." Snow snapped. "The steel is still the same. I ma
de sure that the metal was matched perfectly, and that not a drop of the original weapon was put to waste. The cross-piece was reworked to fit, and even the bindings were repaired and kept. You will be pleasantly surprised with the finished results. It is a blade unlike any other. I supervised its design myself."
My anger diminished, flowing away almost as fast as it had come. I remembered a time when my anger would not have flared up so quickly, or so brightly. I had changed.
I could see that Snow had put a lot of effort into the new sword, and that she had meant it as a kindness. She had known how much the original blade meant to me, and seen to it that the new blade was true to the old. The truth of the matter was that I did want a longer, heavier weapon. Snow had provided that, and allowed me to keep my old blade, in a sense.
I smiled at her, though it still pained me to think of my sword being melted down. "Thank you, Snow. I know that if you helped design it, it will be a blade without equal."
My blade master smiled, and I could tell that she was sincerely happy and maybe even excited about her gift. Giving, I thought, was often better than receiving. Snow stepped closer to me, and leaned forward, her lips forming that gesture that can only mean one thing. I found myself leaning forward as well.
"I'm ready!" Laouna called, stopping us both in our tracks. She was standing off to one side of us, her practice blade at her side. "I'm ready to spar again." She spoke directly to Snow. Behind the green-eyed girls eyes, burned a fire of competition I had seldom seen. She was challenging Snow to a battle of sword, but she was also challenging Snow for my affection. I looked to Snow and saw the expression reflected in her eyes, even if not so keenly.
I could say nothing, at that point, without hurting the feelings of one or the other, so I backed away. Snow took up her practice wand, and the two fighters, perhaps the two greatest sword masters the world had ever seen, squared off across the practice field. There was an air of competition between them, but also I sensed a certain camaraderie. They were about to duel, but they were akin spirits. I watched them stand still, each waiting for the perfect moment to move, and it seemed the world froze as well, wanting to see the outcome of the encounter that was about to occur.
